The last lunch at the last Brigham's in Boston

The end came abruptly for Merola and the rest of the staff at the downtown restaurant on High Street. The four waitresses, two cooks, two counter staff, and one dishwasher learned they would be losing their jobs last week, when the restaurant received an eviction notice.

Staffers said the chain’s new owner, Deal Metrics, a private equity firm in Baltimore, has failed to pay months of rent. The landlord, Lincoln Property, did not respond to requests for comment.

The jarring news of the closure came four months after the company cut their health insurance, even though it continued to deduct money for the insurance from their paychecks.

Many on the loyal staff wept, wondering what to do after working there for so many years.

“It’s just extremely unfortunate what has happened,” said Chris Lund , 49, who has spent 32 years waiting tables for Brigham’s, 22 of them at the High Street shop. “Had the new owner who bought Brigham’s taken care of the business, the business would still be here.”

In a telephone interview, Luke Cooper, managing director of Deal Metrics, declined to comment on the outstanding rent, the lack of health insurance, or what led to the restaurant’s closure.

“We’re closing in large part because of macroeconomic and financial factors affecting our sales,” said Cooper, whose company has owned Brigham’s for the past 18 months and still has another 17 locations throughout the metropolitan area. “We’re certainly sad that we won’t be able to serve the people in Boston anymore.”

The news spread quickly among the regulars.

Today, the restaurant’s last day of official business, the tables were packed, the phone rang constantly, and the ice cream was gone well before the lunch rush died. Nearly everyone had a story to share, extra tips for the waitresses, and long hugs to hold onto.

As he finished the $5.99 hot dog special at the counter, Charlie Eddy slipped the main cook $20 and two of the waitresses $100 each, early Christmas presents.

“It’s a sad day,” said Eddy, an investment officer at the nearby Fiduciary Trust Co., who had dined at the restaurant nearly every workday for the past 30 years. “This is a local institution, and it’s terrible to lose it. Where else will I go for breakfast?”

Sitting beside him, Stephen Mahoney , who met Eddy at the restaurant and has dined with him there for two years, recalled how the staff chipped in to buy him a stuffed duck after his son was born.

“It’s the people who make this place worth coming to,” he said. “You can’t replace that.”

When asked what could be done, Merola shrugged. “Nothing,” she said. “It’s done.”

When a customer pushed back, Lund said: “You can pay the back rent, or win the lottery and buy the place.”

Despite the glum air, the waitresses worked as if their jobs depended on it, rapidly ferrying hot bowls of chowder, quesadillas, and tuna sandwiches to their customers, nearly all of whom they knew by name.

Diane Dunleavy , the dean of the wait staff who began working at the restaurant in her junior year of high school, was too busy to dwell on her plight. The 48-year-old waitress, who earned about $150 a day in tips, never imagined leaving and has no idea what she’ll do next.

“I love my job,” she said between runs to the kitchen. “But why I’m still making money for the new owner is beyond me. But that’s the way we are. We take pride in what we do.”

As the lunch hour ended and the staff began giving away what was left of the food, more tears flowed.

Some customers didn’t want to leave, and the staff didn’t want to let them go.

Cathy Frizell is one of the many regulars who has worked at the building across the street as its name changed from NYNEX to New England Telephone and Telegraph to Bell Atlantic and to Verizon.

The one constant in the neighborhood was Brigham’s.

“All I can say is good luck finding another place like this again in Boston,” she said. “We shared so much here. This place will be sorely missed.”